[lbo-talk] it's inevitable

[ravi]

At around 4/5/06 12:32 pm, Jordan Hayes wrote:
> John Thornton asks:
> 
>> If I run into a liquor store with my hand in my pocket and
>> tell the clerk to give me the till is that a violent crime?
>> According to the DOJ it is. While I won't argue it isn't
>> monumentally stupid I will argue it isn't violent.
> 
> The threat of shooting someone unless they give you money, whether or
> not the threat is credible (how will we know?  do we have to force your
> hand?  what if you actually have a gun, but would never shoot it?) is
> ABSOLUTELY VIOLENT.
> 
> Sheesh, what dictionary do you have today?
> 

Well, what pair of glasses are YOU using today? John never wrote that he
"threatened to shoot someone". All he wrote is: "my hand in my pocket",
"tell the clerk to give me the till". It is entirely valid for you to
assume that the threat is that you will get shot, just because he has
his hands in his pocket? What about a 300 pound man walking up to a 100
pound man and asking for money?

Since I am the person who raised the issue of non-violent drug offenders
populating the jails, in response to Wojtek, I have to add that this
sort of over-analysis of petty detail is, to say the least, strange
(especially the haranguing of Jerry Monaco who has expressed a clear
eagerness to be corrected). So the population is 20% in state prisons
and 50% in federal. Isn't 20+% bad enough? At least isn't it significant
enough to question Wojtek's scorn and revulsion for prisoners and others
that do not follow his style?

Yes, this is a bit of an irrational post for [sections of] which I will
probably apologize tomorrow. Right now, I am just miserable.

	--ravi

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